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The story of Adama K. – local project coordinator of arche noVa in Mali

14. February 2017 - Mali

Adama K.’s favorite subjects of conversation are his trips to our project area, the region of Gao and Timbuktu in the north of Mali. There he meets the people his work is all about, but whom he cannot visit very often. Most of the time the 31-years-old works in the arche noVa office in Bamako, the capital of Mali.

Seit zwei Jahren arbeitet Adama K. für arche noVa in Mali.

The young man has been working for arche noVa for two years now and is in charge of finance control and logistics. He is from the municipality of Ouelessebougou which is 80 km south to Bamako. At the age of 16 he moved to the capital to pass his baccalaureate exam and then went to the university of Bamako to study English. After his studies he worked as an English teacher and translator for various international NGO’s. He knows how important a sound education is. He experienced it himself. Education provided him with opportunities to start a career. “Only education creates prospects in the long term”, he says full-heartedly.

If the work requires it, the situation is safe enough and our local partner organization is able to prepare a trip, Adama K. visits the project area – accompanied by worries. The way is long and dangerous. The number of hostage-takings, attacks and marauding gangs increases the farther north one travels from Bamako. For foreigners the trip across the countryside is impossible. They can only reach Timbuktu by plane, accompanied by the UN. This is one of the reasons why arche noVa employs mainly local staff in Mali and collaborates closely with Nordev.

Adama K. especially likes to visit our education project in the district of Gao. The latter is often present in international press because of the frequent attacks. But the inhabitants still have to face their daily life, namely under difficult conditions. Hence our commitment is very important for the local young people. Since 2016 we offer education programs and advanced trainings in the fields of handicraft, agriculture and veterinary medicine.

Adama K. takes his time to talk to the trainers and listen to the participant’s worries and expectations. He wants to get his own impression on how the courses are executed and what can be improved. When he asks the people about their wishes, they all share the same hope: security and peace in their region, enough food for their families and good education for their children.